Generally, many different surfaces, including those of toilets and other bathroom fixtures, require regular cleaning to reduce buildup of contaminants, waste, and/or other material. Conventional consumer products for cleaning a toilet and other ceramic fixtures have been limited to variations of the common toilet brush. The cleaning process traditionally consists of applying a cleaning solution around a bowl of the fixture and using an abrasive brush to scrub the surface and work in the cleaning solution. It is also common to use the water from the ceramic fixture or toilet bowl in combination with the applied cleaning solution to assist in the cleaning process.
However, the conventional design of traditional toilet brushes and cleaning methodologies experience some shortcomings. Toilet brushes require the user to bend down over the toilet and scrub the surface of the toilet or other fixture, which can cause physical discomfort and can be difficult for certain users (e.g., elderly, chronic pain suffers, etc.). Additionally, once a user finishes cleaning the ceramic surface, the brush is returned to a stand or carrying device. Storage of the brush can be unsanitary because portions of the waste material that was removed from the toilet or other fixture surface can remain on the brush. Moreover, conventional toilet brushes can require a user to scrub with a significant amount of force to remove stains or accumulated waste material, creating a labor intensive process.
Other surface cleaning devices generally include the category of a pressurized liquid emitting from, e.g., a nozzle, against the surface to be cleaned. For example, pressure washers or power washers are known for delivering a high pressure liquid stream using a hose or nozzle. These devices are primarily designed for outside heavy duty cleaning applications and not designed for indoor usage. There are toilet cleaning devices that make use of a pressurized sprayer to clean toilet surfaces, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,552. Such devices can spray a toilet bowl or other ceramic surface with streams of water to clean the surfaces. However, whether cleaning toilets or other surfaces, these known pressurized washers all experience shortcomings, including that they all create overspray and/or reflective splash back, which can result in the user or operator of the washer being exposed to the contaminated water and waste material splashing onto their bodies, and can additionally result in the surrounding surfaces being covered with the same waste material, including the washer itself (as with toilet brushes). These shortcomings are undesirable, and in the case of cleaning toilets, are unsanitary, making them insufficient solutions.